The copending application of Roll et al., Ser. No. 08/186,935, filed Jan. 27, 1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,174, describes a method for making plastic optical fiber connectors, and for applying such connectors to parallel arrays of optical fibers supported on a plastic substrate, such as an optical fiber ribbon or an optical backplane. Each optical fiber connector comprises a pair of plastic support members bonded on opposite sides of a parallel array of optical fibers such that each optical fiber is supported in matching V-grooves of the two support members. The ends of the fibers are precisely located by the connector, which permits them to be abutted or connected to the ends of fibers of another array.
The Roll et al. application describes how optical fiber support members can be held in vacuum chucks for automatic placement on opposite sides of an array of optical fibers. Alignment projections and apertures in the two support members and in the two vacuum chucks permit the chucks to be oriented on opposite sides of the optical fibers such that the V-grooves of the support members are accurately clamped on opposite sides of each optical fiber. Making the support members of plastic permits alignment projections and apertures to be formed in them and also permits their convenient placement in the vacuum chucks.
While the purpose of the Roll et al. application is to automate the placement of support members on optical fiber ribbon arrays, one still must manually install the support members in the vacuum chucks. If one could automate the installation of the plastic support members in the vacuum chucks, one could further automate the process of "connectorizing" optical fiber arrays.